Just finished my Paul Seller's workbench
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17 November 2014 at 7:31 pm #121061
I just finished, well almost finished, all I have left is staining/finish on my new hand tool workbench.
I made a cross between Paul’s youtube knock down bench and his Working Wood book version. I was short on depth so I left of some of the back bench top. Quite happy with how it turned out. There is no shimmy whatsoever, the wedges really lock the legs solid. I left it so I can take it apart. The top is screwed to the bearers and a carriage bolt through the front leg.
I went with a height of 42″ as I am 6′ 3″ and have no complaints yet. I figure I can cut the legs down an inch at a time if I need.
Full pictures and description are on my blog:
A hand tool workbench based off of Paul Sellers’ plans
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You must be logged in to view attached files.18 November 2014 at 6:30 am #121079Thanks David, yes I made a bucket of mistakes on the bench but in the end its a functional bench. Always good to learn where its not critical to be perfect.
I setup my old Stanley #80 scraper today after sharpening it on the new bench (so nice to have a bench of reasonable height)! I used the scraper to fix most of the tear out on the bench, very happy with it.
19 November 2014 at 3:25 am #121111Looks good, Mike! Did you get construction grade doug fir lumber or was there 2x lumber at your yard in a better grade?
I need to build a bench (working off an old door on sawhorses with a clamp-on vise) but the thought of planing off all the eased edges on construction 2x lumber makes me find something else to do. Ha!
19 November 2014 at 6:39 am #121119I understand Derek, its difficult to make the bench without a nice bench but it is doable. I used construction grade, they might of had better lumber though I never actually asked. We also have several good local hardwood suppliers that I am sure could have found me better lumber. The 8’s are getting worse it seems, tons of bark. I actually bought quite a few 10’s as they were far better condition, fewer knots, less bark, just plain better wood. 2×6’s I looked for few knots in the sides as they were going to be seen. The 2×4’s I was making sure the edges were clean of knots.
I used an old delta surface planer I picked up for 50 bucks 15 years ago to get rid of the round corners. I used the #4 to fine tune the glue joints. If I didn’t have the delta, a good sharp number 4 or my converted #5 scrub followed by the 4 could have made quick work of the corners. Actually now I think about it, plane the faces, you could glue them all together if they fit well together gap wise and just use the scrub to take it down after glue up when you are flattening the tops. Much easier with them glued up than doing them one at a time (not sure how that would work for gaps).
Good luck, I started and stopped after my first planing adventure failed miserably. Took me a month or two to get back to it and try again.
19 November 2014 at 10:23 pm #121205The bench looks great, Mike. I’ve been considering building one soon. I’ve been going with a solid core door as a bench-top on fairly sturdy legs for several years. I feel like the bench absorbs too much of my mallet blows (even though I hammer directly above a leg), so I’m wasting energy because of the flex or give.
I didn’t realize Paul had a different design for a bench in his book. What are the differences between that and the youtube bench
20 November 2014 at 4:15 am #121214Thanks Matt either bench would be a step up from a stability standpoint. I found the lack of a good workspace was causing me not to do woodworking.
The main differences are the youtube is a knock down bench with wedges though the book one could be changed to that without an issue. The youtube one has 2 12″ tops with a 12″ tool well in the middle and is 36″ deep. The book which has 12″ bench and a 12″ tool well for 24″ of depth. Since I didn’t have 3 feet of room anywhere I made the second bench about 6 inches. I might have been happy with the book version, time will tell. I do like the knock down ability and the wedges are solid.
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